Everyone loves a good bowl of chili, and this Slow Cooker Chili is one of the best! Filled with lean ground beef, veggies and beans, this chili recipe is super hearty, secretly healthy, and so easy to make.
Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add in ground beef and salt and pepper to taste. Break meat apart as it browns. Drain off excess fat if desired and place back into pan.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and carrot, and cook another 5 minutes to slightly soften the veggies. Pour into the bottom of a cold crockpot.
Add in the green chiles, corn, tomato sauce, pinto beans, kidney beans, mild chili seasoning and beef broth to the crockpot. Stir well and cover.
Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours. (If you can, stir every hour, or as you remember.) Chili will thicken as it cooks.
After 4 hours, taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
Serve chili with any desired toppings such as sour cream, cilantro, tortilla chips, cheese, avocado, red onion, etc.
Notes
Store and Freeze: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Lean Beef: Using 93/7 extra lean ground beef makes this dish extra easy, because you don't have to drain any extra fat. Why? There's just not much to drain off when you use meat that lean! Of course, you can also use fattier meat. If you are using anything under 90/10, I would recommend draining.
Beef Substitute: You can also use ground turkey in this recipe - it's a good substitute and turns out very tasty, although it may not be quite as "meaty" tasting.
Add Heat: This chili is mild, not spicy. However, if you want more heat, that's easy to fix: just add some cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes, to your taste.
Beans: You can use different types of beans depending on what you prefer. If you like a lot of beans, you can add an extra can of beans. This recipe is super flexible!
Bell Pepper: I love the distinctive flavor of a green bell pepper, but if you'd like a more subtle pepper flavor, swap the green for a red, yellow, or orange bell pepper instead.